Two Tribes go to War

Serafina
Rob & Sarah Bell
Tue 18 May 2010 13:39
Monday 17th May

Our early night last night coincided with an outbreak of differences of opinion on the boat next door. Seems that not all the crew were prepared to accept the decision of the captain (and owner) over a particular issue.

Serafina had a good internal clean through and we developed a new system for the passerelle (gang plank) incorporating the new arch on the stern.

We then all wandered off into the town of Finike heading for the chandlery shop that Sarah had announced yesterday as being a veritable fishing emporium. Sadly the window she saw was not fully representative and we all came away very disappointed! We strolled though a very nice park where we found several tortoises wandering wild (photos will be posted soon) and finally came to another great fruit and veg market. Turkey certainly is awash with fresh veg and the rows of colourful stalls makes for a great sight as well as good shopping. We also bought some lamb in the butchers and were treated to a very skilful display of butchery. We ended up in a cafe that had just been recommended to us by one of the rally boats where we enjoyed some wonderful Pide which is a form of Turkish pizza ,like a thicker version of pitta bread stuffed with various fillings.

Another casual afternoon developed into a research session where we discussed and looked up information on all the trips that are on offer as we pass through Syria, Lebanon, Israel and Egypt. We simply cannot do all of them, so it is a question of picking what looks to be the very best and then perhaps organising our own things also as we go along.

Sarah went off to the skippers meeting at 5.30pm and returned with the news that our arrival time for tomorrow?s trip had been set back an hour which means we do not have to set off until 5.30am for the 45 mile trip. At 7.00pm we attended another cocktail party on the quay and this time we were treated to performance by a young dance troop followed by music from a string quintet whilst we were served with a superb punch and optional beer etc. and wide range of nibbles and hot food. The food did not go far as certain visitors do not quite seem to understand the notion of sharing things out and queuing which is causing a little bad feeling here and there!

An announcement was made at the presentations that there were gale warning for tomorrow when we are due to sail from Finike to Kemer. We were due to leave at 5.30am but will now wait for a decision from the organisers which will made at 6.00am.